Constantinople: The Cradle of Civilization

Greek Plunder

Greek Plunder

Civvidy-doo.
Joined
Apr 10, 2004
Messages
234
I wrote a fairly successful story awhile ago under the handle of werd hertz, and was
quite pleased with it. I've taken a long hiatus from Civ since then, and just recently picked up Conquests, and I've decided to give it another go. It should be fairly easy to follow. I like to role play a little, so some moves may not be the wisest in the long run, but the most entertaining in the short.

Civ: Byzantines (HOORAY!! Finally in Conquests!)
Map Size: Standard
Map Type: Pangea 70%, Random Terrain
Difficulty: Regent

4000 BC: Our first village has been settled; Constantinople. I have big plans, despite these humble beginnings, and can envision a city teeming with citizens and bustling with the activity of the day. Built along the coast, we will be able to take advantage of the fishing and travel ways the water can afford us. I see us making a strong living on the waves. The rocks are treacherous, and so we must be careful, less we lose the few good men we currently have. To the North-East is a tribe of what appear to be nomads, and we will send a troupe of emissaries to them once we've settled.



3500 BC: Steadily we grow, without interruption. Our village has expanded, with outlying farms becoming more common and plentiful. We have begun to mine the rich mineral out-croppings lying near by, and have begun to experiment with stone, in the hopes of constructing great monuments to represent our civilization. The nomads gave us their meager maps of the region and have since left, on their way to greener pastures, or so they said. The air is fresh by the sea, and my followers have finally given it a name. The ‘Sea of Peoples’. It will prove appropriate.



3400 BC: Our adventurous young warriors have tasted the sweet product of what they call ‘grapes’. They promise that, once old enough to leave the protection of their parents and the tribe, they will found a village there.

3200 BC: To the south lies a protective barrier of mountains, surrounding us like the loving arms of a mother. The ‘Crest of the World,’ or so I have taken to calling it. It stretches from the Sea of Peoples in the west, all the way to the East. They ensure a good defensive position against marauding bands of raiders and possibly other, more hostile, civilizations, but they also promise an impediment, and will cause difficulty when we seek out new lands to settle. They appear rich in beautiful stones far to the East, along an unknown, and unnamed sea.



2900 BC: We’ve sent out our first daughter colony, with them settling along the coast opposite Constantinople. Adrianople, as I have named her, is blessed as well with rich mineral deposits and spacious plains, along with yards and yards of cultivable grapes. We will grow these, and trade them amongst ourselves.



2850 BC: Our first battle took place on this date, with a group of our outward forces coming across a band of hostile Cimmerian barbarians. They fought valiantly, ultimately erasing all traces of this group of savages. They returned wounded, but experienced. This proves to ourselves that we are worthy of war, as well as sea travel.

2670 BC: I present to you the big picture, up to this point. We have encountered many barbarian tribes, nomads, friendly and hostile, although no civilized peoples like ourselves. It would be nice to see what other cultivated humans are capable of creating in this dangerous world. We have defeated forces of both Cimmerians and Thracians. So far we have expanded with one village, Adrianople, and are currently in the process of burgeoning the forces there with Spearmen, recruited from the populace and trained in defense. We’ve trained many learned men in the mysteries of stone building, and I have now set these same men on the process of learning the Warrior Code, to understand how these hostile tribes fight and operate.



2430 BC: Life! Far to the south a small troupe of our most hardy warriors has come across a rustic village of peoples that have bestowed themselves with the name ‘Greeks’. They were found laying astride a fertile riverbed, and their leader, Alexander, was cautious to meet our acquaintance until after we spoke and traded. I gave him the secrets of masonry and a rudimentary amount of gold for the knowledge of the Wheel. This civilization seems quite advanced, but is far enough away as to not pose a security risk. We have become close friends, Alexander and I.
2431 BC: Near this same date, we came across the advanced Spanish to the East, distant from both my lands and my fellow Greeks. Their leader, Isabella, a most unattractive female, spoke cautiously while we traded our knowledge. Masonry for both a study on the Warrior Code and the mysticism of Ceremonial Burial. The Spanish are quite wise, although I do not think that Isabella fully trusts me the way Alexander does.




2350 BC: A friendly Mycenaean tribe has taught us the secret ways of Mysticism, while our warriors stumbled upon another pocket of hostile barbarians, this time the Gauls. The majority seem to be bent on the destruction of all settled, civilized, peoples. I don’t bother with them though, and force my commanders to steer away once they’ve been discovered. There is no sense fighting pointless battles.
 
2030 BC: Caesarea has been born! Near the foothills of the Crest of the World, more of our intelligent young peoples have settled cultivable land, building their houses for their families to live for generations. They’ve already accomplished a task unknown to be done by anyone before; taming wild beasts called ‘horses’.They’ve found it’s an easy way of travel, and have already sent many of the tamed animals to Constantinople, with promises of more to come!



1950 BC: Our exploration of land has been underway for hundreds of years now, but that of the sea is just beginning. To the west a curragh travels, and to the east, toward the unnamed sea and the farthest most tip of the Crest of the World, travels another.
On an unrelated note, King Alexander and Despot Isabella believe our people to be technologically advanced, and some of the most intelligent in the known world. I find it hard to hide my pride at such praises from their likes.



1790 BC: Our curragh traveling to the west has discovered the Sea of Peoples bends to the south, breaking into our continent, and then back out again. To the east, it appears the exploration of the new sea reveals a straight, fairly calm and easy coast line. Since the coast belongs to both the Spanish and I, and I believe in fair representation, we have agreed upon the name of the ‘Neutral Sea’. This bodes well for the future of both our nations, and continued cooperation.



1725 BC: Far, FAR to the south, even farther than the Greeks, we have come across the Celtic peoples, and their muddy village of Alesia. Their peoples are backward and barely able to speak a coherent language. In pity, and in the hopes of future good will, I’ve sent a group of our best scholars to teach them our alphabet. This may forge bonds of language.



1700 BC: I’ve finally been convinced to build a huge statue in Constantinople as a testament to the growing civilization this is our own. The men and women responsible for the job will call it The Calluses, and it will be the largest bronze structure ever devised. Surely, every country that comes to visit our magnificent capital city will see this and think twice before dealing behind my back.

1625 BC: Poor Alexander. One can only wonder at what happened to him and his people at the beginning of time. The Greeks have been limited to only one rather humble village this entire time, seemingly unwilling, or unable, to expand and settle new grounds. The roving bands of barbarians may have had their toll on small Athens hundreds of years ago, marking that countries slow progress.

1600 BC: Nicaea has been founded on this date, to the east of Caesarea. Its lands are just as fertile and forgiving as the formers, and wild cattle are plentiful here. We will soon have a village butting up against the Neutral Sea.



1575 BC: The Spanish expand at a rapid pace, already numbering the same amount of cities as our own, possibly more. Our borders will assuredly eventually meet.
To the south, our far venturing curragh has discovered barren deserts below the Celtic homelands, but is still bent on completing a round about trip of our home continent. There has been no news from Alexander in some time, and King Brennus of the Celts is as jovial as ever, and a pleasure to speak with whenever the opportunity arrises.



1550 BC: Hostile barbarian tribes are attempting to cross the snowy tops of the Crest of the World, and are threatening the rich culture of our towns and peoples! We will let them come, and they can fall on our spears themselves.



1475 BC: We’ve come across the English, a rather advanced civilization of people as far south as our small curragh could possibly travel. Their leader, Elizabeth, seemed the OK sort.
As well, the barbarian tribes crossing the Crest seem to have stopped in their tracks, and have not traveled past them. What could their motive be?

1425 BC: Our most learned men have devised a system of writing! Pieces of beautiful literary work are now already being developed and brought forward, and it can only continue. Our civilization is a beacon of light in a world of darkness. We are the envy of the known world!

1350 BC: Varna has been settled next to the Neutral Sea, the furthest to the East possible, while still remaining behind the natural barrier of the Crest. A hilly, mountainous town, it has the ability to mine beautiful gems from the rock. It will most likely never attain large status, but that is not its true purpose. It will be extremely valuable in the construction of monuments and temples to the gods.





TO BE CONTINUED: To this day, our civilization has truly achieved great things. We have established ourselves as the superior sea power, with curragh expeditions sent to the east and west, establishing contact with such far away tribes as the Celts and the English, peoples the Spanish have assuredly not made contact with. Constantinople grows yearly, and its population is beginning to soar, with well over 70,000 citizens. The construction of the Collosus is testing the minds of our most brilliant men, and it will until the day it is fully completed. We have made great strides in knowledge and learning, and we will continue to do so, avoiding military conflict if possible. There is enough room for everyone, and in the event of attack from a neighbor, we have the natural defense of the Crest of the World protecting us, although the next step will be establishing frontier towns across it, and constructing great roads across its rocky steps.
 
Back to the story!

As our civilization stalked along in history, we began to learn more quickly, our scholars becoming more efficient and able, and soon we were on our way to studying the neighboring seas even further. Map Making was the next step, and already we began cutting the timber needed to build large, multi-manned boats called ‘galleys’.
Spain, our main rival, but also friend, was well under way in its bid for cultural supremacy as well, but still they lacked the finesse of our own civilization. Everytime one of their citizens would come visit, they’d return with stories of magnificent Constantinople.




1300 BC: A small team of workers (freemen, not slaves, thank you very much) are hard at play mining the gems and minerals from one particularly rich find near the village of Varna. The eastern caps of the Crest are coated in deep snow, and although the going is tough, it will pay off in the long run.




1100 BC: What a great day this is! I’ve just received news that the mighty Collosus in Constantinople has been completed and is standing tall at this very moment. With this construct displaying the prowess of our capital city, who will dare speak poorly of us?




1075 BC: There is news finally of the expansion of the Greeks. My scouts and spies have seen the villages themselves, and I actually feel pleased for Alexander. It is always good to see a people expand and meet new horizons.




975 BC: Our gem miners have bridged the gap, constructing a road across the Crest near Varna. It is the easiest way to pass, and as a result, our people have created the first frontier town near it, Smyrna, sure to become a mining village like Varna, as the location of Iron ore is so near.




800 BC: Our Dromos own the seas! On this date we’ve produced our very first fleet of the Greek fire slinging beasts, and have begun construction on the Great light House in Constantinople, a building sure to assist us in our monopoly of the waters. We’ve sent out another daughter colony to the east of Smyrna on the frontier.



 
I just read the first page of the Celtic Peacekeepers by DaftPanzer, and decided I had better UP the level of illustrations or else be bested! Very good story and illustrations by him. *thumbs up*
 
775 BC: To lay down the plans of future peace and prosperity, I, Theodora, gathered the great leaders of the Spanish, the Greeks, and the Celts, and formed a diplomatic square, with all of us signing right of passage agreements. With this alliance, and assured peace for the near future, our people can do nothing but grow.



730 BC: As the leader of all the peoples of Byzantine, I feel it is my right to construct the most marvelous and long lasting monuments to our culture and civilization. As we speak, masses of work groups are cutting down the trees that populate the Extended Homeland to make room for statues and temples to the gods. The Frontier grows with villages as our nation expands, and Heraclea has just been settled along The rapids, near the Spanish border. I send men to the Crest of the World to forge paths through it, to reach the frontier, in an effort to show the tenacity of the human species.





590 BC: The great Horseman of Caesarea have been trained, and they are now swelling in number. These men mount their personal horses with spear and short sword in hand, flanking and striking quickly their enemy. They are beautiful to watch in formation and make Constantinople proud!



350 BC: The English, far to my south, have some how over taken every other nation I know of, including ourselves, in technological research. They just established an embassy in Constantinople this year, no doubt to flaunt their growing empire. Their borders abruptly end against those of the Romans and the Celts.

 
270 BC: Without our consent, the brazen English sailed up along the Western coast of the Sea of Peoples, dropping off a band of settlers and a troupe of spearmen in the Frontier, with definite plans of village life. They may be a strong civilization, and they may well have clout in diplomatic meetings, but they have no right to simply waltz into someone elses claimed territory and settle. Our Dromons escorted their well-worn galley out of our waters.




250 BC: After Elizabeth’s first insult to the Byzantine people, she now decides to do it again. Only this time, it’s 10 times more serious. She demands tribute from us, the glorious, cultivated peoples of Constantinople. I have condemned this act, along with the Spanish, Celtish, and Greeks. I will not concede to her demands, and have refused to pay her ANY amount of gold. The peoples of the free world will not put up with this type of behavior.



After refusing her demand for a tribute, she threatened me that she will remember our nation’s uncooperativeness, as if I won’t remember HERS.

230 BC: Our great and friendly nation is here to assist any other struggling peoples in need, and so the Greeks have come to us for aid. Their small civilization is backward and is in dire needs for technology and learned men. We have sent scholars to their capitial in Athens, in the hopes that they will be able to grow along with us.



As well on this date, Constantinople completed the work of the Great Lighthouse. Standing tall in that great cities great Harbour, it will enable our Dromons to travel farther and for longer periods of time.



190 BC: Voyage through the sea! One of our brave Dromon crews has left the Sea of Peoples and is now travelling through an unknown body of water, in the hopes of discovering some far off civilization, or group of settled peoples.



50 BC: Revolts occur throughout the byzantine kingdom on this date, as we change our form of government from mere Despotism to a royal monarchy. I will be crowned Queen, and we will construct a monument to my tastes, Sun Tzu’s Art of War. Schools will spring up throughout all of the towns and cities of the kingdom dedicated to the study and learning of methods of war.

 
Thanks for all the replies! I'm glad people are liking it... I'll have another update on it up soon. I would have had it up earlier, but Soul Calibur 2 has been eating all my time.

I use Adobe Photoshop to edit the screenshots.
 
10 AD : If these troops were anyone’s BUT our friends the Celts, whom we have a Right of Passage agreement with, I might be worried about a preemptive surprise attack. But, since the Celts have a history, like us, of peace and prosperity, we’ll keep our troops in their barracks.



30 AD: Argh!! And here I was, thinking that I could trust those filthy Celtish bastards for even a second. I KNEW they weren’t just out on a butterfly collecting mission. After invading the Byzantine territory near the frontier towns, they declared war and assaulted Trebizond, which beat them back with only minor injuries to the forces there.



The Horsemen of Caesarea have been deployed, and they’re running at full speed toward the Frontier towns. The initial Celtic assault was small in size, so let’s hope this will be enough to hold them off until our government fully kicks into gear at this sudden attack. Our new system of Monarchy will be ready soon, and then we will set into motion what needs to be done!



31 AD: Our long time friends, the Spanish, have come to our aid. As we were renegotiating our Right of Passage, that which had only moments before been honored by the Celts as well, I offered Isabella a taste of feudalism. Apparently, she liked it! I have had choice words for her before, but she has fully proved her worth this time!



50 AD: Alexander has eagerly accepted a continuation of our Right of Passage agreement, but I declined his offer to join the fight against the back stabbing Celts. His land is to near their border, and, although I didn’t want to say this to his face, I highly doubt he could repel their attacks for long.



On this date, as well, our military advisor has come to a decision. We will continue to defend the onslaught of the Celtic forces near Trebizond and Heraclea, but at the same time we will lead an attack of our own. Eboracum, an isolated village of theirs just across the Crest along the coast of the Sea of Peoples will be the target. Once taken, we will have access to practically the entire western Frontier.



130 AD: The war rages on! On the Sea of Peoples, the Celtic aggressors have launched a surprise attack, a Galley full of soldiers has sailed up along the coast, ready to unleash hell whenever it please. We must hurry and race our Dromons back to the homeland, quickly!



On this same date our strong Spanish allies have captured a Celtic town on the eastern fringes of their sprawling empire. Perhaps this will make the Celts more wary of future wars!

 
nice story!

i like the names you give to everything on the map
 
190 AD: Their galley has finally unloaded its cargo of troops. They are smaller in size than what I had expected, but all the same, they may cause a problem this close to our great cities of Constantinople and Adrianople. In the nick of time, our military camps have trained and finished drilling a new line of defenders; Pikemen. The first group has been dispatched to Adrianople.



In a quick turn of events, a wayward troupe of workers fell upon the small group of enemy archers, forcing me to dispatch some Spearmen to ambush and destroy them, and simply hope for the best. As I should have expected, they came away victorious. With this threat to the Byzantine heartlands now out of the way, I can breath a sigh of relief and not expect to awaken at night with archers and Spearmen attacking my palace. This was an experience I cannot afford to forget

260 AD: Our greatly cultured civilization has entered a golden age! Mark this date! Our citizens rally behind our soldiers in our defensive war against the aggressive Celts.

261 AD: To the east, more good news from the Spanish. Verulamium, a Celtic city bordering Gergovia has been just recently been taken.



270 AD: A great victory has happened this year! As I was sitting with my commander, news came in that Eboracum was captured and completely razed to the ground. Although I will feel the guilt of the lives lost in the massacre, I will sleep well at night knowing that a lesson has been served to the foolish Celtic King. I will quickly rush caravans to its grave and rebuild a new town in the name of the Byzantines, in tribute to all those who’ve lost their lives in this needless war.



280 AD: I am the first one to admit to myself that the Spanish peoples, militarily, are more powerful than us. Their military is a small source of envy. It’s because of this that theyw ere able tot ravel so far and still conquer two Celtic towns.



290 BC: Luck is finally beginning to smile on us! A single Horseman single-handedly capture a Celtic town to the south of Eboracum’s ruins, destroying it and all of its buildings. I will wait the remaining term of our Alliance with the Spanish, and then give peace to the foolish Celts.

310 AD: News from away has reached our kingdom (queendom). The Germans, a wealthy civilization to the far east was devastated by a volcanic explosion which completely annihilated one of their small villages along the coast of their neighboring sea.



Pictureby5
330 AD: ANOTHER eruption has occured, this time a lot closer to home! A Spanish city reaching our Frontier borders was completely destroyed, down to the last man, in a fiery explosion.



340 AD: Today, our great nation made peace with that of the Celts. King Brennus thanked us through clenched teeth. The Spanish continue to war, but it is only a matter of time now before they declare peace as well.

 
I almost never read these stoires- this one has me checkign back everyday for more! good work dude, i hope to see more of this story, and many more like it :)
 
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